Resurgent Gators head to Missouri, once again a team to reckon with in the SEC
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GAINESVILLE — Florida’s meteoric rise into the Top 10 has placed them in the crosshairs again in the SEC.
When the once-mighty Gators came to town, they rarely left a winner the past five seasons. Opponents no longer bothered to circle the game on the calendar. The program’s mystique had faded.
First-year coach Jon Sumrall has yet to turn Florida into one of the teams to beat in the nation’s toughest conference, but entering Saturday’s trip to No. 25 Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC), the Gators (4-0, 2-0) no longer appear to be an easy out, either, after going 0-14 against ranked teams the past four seasons under Billy Napier.
Yet the momentum of last weekend’s 52-28 rout of then-No. 4 Ole Miss — and Gators’ rapid trajectory — could stall with another loss in Columbia, where Florida has lost three of its past four visits and last prevailed in 2019.
Sumrall has kept the message simple: Nothing before or beyond this week matters.
“After practice he always says 1-0, 1-0,” sophomore receiver Dallas Wilson said. “That’s what we wanna be.”
The mindset spurred the program’s first 4-0 start since Dan Mullen’s ’19 squad started 6-0 during an 11-win season.
Back then, the 12-team College Football Playoff was years away. Now a win on Saturday would leave the Gators well-positioned for a run to the postseason.
An Oct. 17 date at No. 1 Texas and Oct. 31 meeting with No. 2 Georgia in Atlanta would go from measuring sticks to heavyweight matchups.
In a sport increasingly favoring offensive success, Florida has displayed as much firepower as anyone.
The Gators rank second nationally with 53.5 points per game with Buster Faulkner calling plays.
Tailback Jadan Baugh, who has an SEC-leading 600 rushing yards and nation-best 11 touchdowns, anchors an array of playmakers as he looks to record his sixth straight 100-yard game. Quarterback Aaron Philo is third in the SEC with a 182.9 passer rating, while the offensive line has allowed just two sacks.
Against Ole Miss, Faulkner’s attack scored touchdowns on five straight possessions to rout the Rebels.
During Florida’s first 52-point outburst against a Top-5 foe since the 1996 national championship game against Florida State, the Gators committed one procedural penalty — a delay of game for which Faulkner took the blame.
After an endless stream of costly mistakes on offense under Napier, Florida has been a well-oiled machine under Faulkner.
“No drive-killers,” Wilson said. “We always say that.”
Sumrall’s players have been listening.
As the bumps and bruises and aches and pains start to add up, Sumrall, a former Kentucky linebacker, made the price of success clear to this players this week.
“How much are you willing to give?,” said senior left tackle Bryce Lovett, echoing his coach’s words. “They’re just trying to push us and see how much we’re willing to give.”
Because from here on out, the resurgent Gators are going to get everyone’s best shot.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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